Santa Cruz residents weigh in on transportation in 2035

SANTA CRUZ -- The future of the Monterey Bay region was the focus of a public workshop Thursday with local residents invited to share a vision of how they hope to get around by 2035 -- whether by car, bike, bus, rail or another form of public transit.

The meeting, held at the Santa Cruz Police Department's community room with about 40 participants, was led by a consultant hired by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.

AMBAG is conducting a series of public workshops throughout Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties to gather input on a regional transportation plan known as "Moving Forward Monterey Bay."

Bill Wiseman of Marina-based RBF Consulting guided the group through discussions largely related to individual commuting habits with questions such as "If you didn't drive, how did you get there," and "What's stopping you from walking, bicycling or taking transit?"

Ideas were encouraged that would get more people to cut back on the use of single-occupancy vehicles and help meet a statewide mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.

"We're looking at the long-term big picture," Wiseman said. "Where should we fund transportation projects? What should we prioritize?"

Longtime Santa Cruz resident Peter Kennedy, a Santa Cruz planning commissioner, said he strongly agrees with the regional approach under way by AMBAG to improve transportation alternatives across the Monterey Bay.

"The climate stuff is a real concern," Kennedy said. "I'm so interested in how transportation, housing and job all wrap up together. I'm particularly interested in carbon neutrality."

Santa Cruz Public Works Director Mark Dettle said getting people out of their cars requires a much different transportation infrastructure than what is available in Santa Cruz County. In addition, he said, folks would need to make a major mind shift if they were to give up daily driving.

Dettle said the motivation not to drive in Santa Cruz is lacking compared with larger cities such as San Francisco and New York where the cost of parking is many times higher than what it is here.

"When it costs $18 to park in San Francisco compared with a $2 BART ride, the choice is easy," he said. "(In Santa Cruz), we're geared toward providing easy access to the automobile. I don't think the incentive or cost economics is there yet."

Several people in the audience criticized the regional approach to transportation planning and voiced concern that the process was an attempt by the government to infringe on individual liberties.

Moving Forward Monterey Bay is part of a multiagency collaboration to design a transportation plan that promotes a new way of thinking in where people live, how they travel and where jobs should be located.

According to AMBAG projections, the tri-county area by 2035 will see a population increase of more than 150,000 people, 40,000 more housing units and 65,000 additional jobs.